Cigarette making machine



Dec. 27, 1932. w. GORDON CIGARETTE MAKING MACHINE Filed March 10, 1932 W Gal (901a INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 2 7, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Application filed March 10, 1932. Serial No. 597,893.

This invention relates to cigarette making properly in the making of a cigarette should machines of the type wherein a spiral conveybe cut up. v or is used for conveying tobacco into and Athird important object of the present inthrough a tube around which a cigarette pavention is to provide an improved form of per may be wrapped, the machine being especigarette making machine wherein pieces of cially adaptedi'or individual or personal use. tobacco of propersize to feed freely through The tobacco used in making cigarettes'is of the tube will be conveyed through said tube three general classes known usually by the without further comminution while pieces too terms granular, crimp cut and shredlarge to feed freely will be cut by the conded. Granular tobacco is in the form of yeyor means into proper sizes for free feed; 59 small grains of more or less even size and lng. 7 should be free from pulverized or dust to- With the foregoing objects as paramount, bacco for cigarette making. Crimp cut is the lnveiitronlias particular reference to its tobacco which is cut to provide strips or fiat salient ieatures of constructlon and arrangea; 02)

thread like portions greatly shortened by ment of parts, which will become manifest as crimping. In both of these forms the indih s llption proceeds, taken in connection vidual pieces of tobacco are usually of proph he accompanying draw ng, wherein er size for use in making cigarettes and, when Flg le 1- 1s a perspective vaew of the prethus of proper size, must not be subjected to rr d type of c garette mak ng machine in W 0 any further comminution, whether by grind- WhIQh he lhventlon 1S 8I1'lbOCl1eC l. x 70 ing or cutting, tending to produce tobacco g r 18 a detall View of the axis or mand t drel constituting the body of the conveyor One object of the present invention is to Used herelnprovide an improved cigarette making ma- Figure 3 is a View of the body of the -con-' chine of this class wherein a conveyor and YQ W g he peculiar type of flight 75 tube are used and in which the conveyor is so p a y thereuponv constructed as to properly feed granulated g rc 4 1S a fragmen filfy 3 1 VleW 111 and crimp cut tobaccos into and through the p pectlve I tube without grinding or cutting the tobacco Flgllre 5 IS a r gm n ary. view of the barrel 0 and thus producing undesirable dust. o-rconveyor casing showmg the conveyorm Shredded tobacco is in the form of quite gi inal cross section. V V v long thread like pieces and these pieces are Flgure 18a detall w Sh wing; the transinElined to mat together so that proper feed? Sectlol} of h P YQ fl a i ing through the tube of a cigarette machine Flame 1 15 a F 9Ct1011 95 is hindered and it is, in practice, impossible S g fi 3 um t t q l t to make cigarettes in the previous machines i zg ig e assem y C91 am P3 S 0 1f thls type 9f tobacco 1s gmployed' In oroceedin more in detail. it may be stat- A secongilmpoitant h of fi ed that t e presznt invention contemplates the 40 lg Pr 6 an lmprove clgalem me use of an im iro-vement over conventional 90 of this class wherein shredded tobacco may 1 types of flight conveyors which are usually b used for makmg. clgarettesthe tobacco.be' comprised of a strip of material spirally mg cut by specla'l arrangement of Splml wound upon a body and ofuniform thickness conveyor int) P P P d {Rely cross section. Theseconveyors are not through the b d lnto the g p' possessedof a definite cutting edge and conse-" 95 p a V quently are not capable of cutting into pre- Some tobaccos re S I 'Whi a m r determined lengths shreds or like material of of two of the above kinds or even of all three. any character. v y With such mixed tobaccos it is obvious that In actual practice, unless the flight" of the ,7 only those pieces-which are too large to feed conveyor is provided with this cutting edge, m

shredded tobacco has a tendency to entwine itself about the body and will not advance through the barrel or casing in which the conveyor operates. Material in the nature of tobacco in shreds or long strands will not make into a cigarette unless these strands can be fed into a confined enclosure such as a paper tube and it has been found that this cannot be done satisfactorily except by cutting the shreds into predetermined lengths to prevent the same from becoming entwined about the conveyor.

The conveyor element used in this invention consists primarily of a rod 1 of any suitable material shown in Figure 2 and the winding'3 whose cross section is preferably that shown in Figure 6. Particular notice will be' taken that when operatively applied to themandrel or body 1, the flat base a'of the flight 3 rests flush against the cylindrical surface of the mandrel. In being so applied, the spiral face I) of the flight will lie at an angle relative to the axis of the mandrel 1 while the opposed surface 0 will lie at a more acute angle relative to the axis of the mana drel.

It is to be noted that the face I) of the flight 3 is at such an angle to the body 1 that it forms, with the body, a spiral pocket so that material forced forwardly by the rotation of the conveyor will not tend to be thrown outwardly from the body but, on the contrary, will be urged toward the body from the outer parts of the flight. Thus granulated and crimp cut tobaccos will be urged away from the cutting edge of the flight and will suffer no comminution as they are conveyed along. However, this will not interfere with the cutting action of the conveyor on shredded tobacco since the lengths of the pieces which are too long for feeding is such that they will project into the path of the edge of the flight and be thereby cut into suitable lengths for such feeding. I

Referring specifically to the mode of application of the invention, it will be noted in Figure 7 that the barrel 8 is slotted near one end and the sides 9 thereof are turned outwardly against the inner surfaces of a hopper 10, whose sides converge inwardly toward the bottom thereof. Material is therefore fed into the conveyor which advances the same to the outlet end of the barrel 8. Such material as shredded tobacco and the like is cut into predetermined lengths at point d in Figure 7 by reason of the fact that the sharp edge of the flight 3 comes into frictional contact with the swedged mouth of the barrel 8 at d and no difficulty is encountered in advancing or transporting the material to the outlet end of the barrel 8. The portion cl of the barrel defines a trap into which the materialis forced and compacted to allow the cutting edge of the flight to act thereupon preparatory to its being advanced through the barrel.

With reference to Figure 1, it will be observed that the hopper 10 is supported upon the base 11, which also carries a small electric motor 12. A wheel 13 is secured to the ex tended end of the conveyor body which is also shown in Figure 7 and about this wheel is a belt 14-, which belt surrounds a pulley 15. In this manner, by pressing the switch button 16, the material placed in the hopper 10 will be speedily issued at the discharge end of the barrel 8. A receptacle 17 is provided to receive surplus or excess tobacco discharged.

A cigarette paper tube, not shown, is placed over the. end of the barrel 8' and as the tobacco is fed thereinto, it is moved by I the pressure of the advancing material off the end of the barrel. By restraining the movement of the paper tube, the tobacco may be packed into the paper to any desired degree to make a firm cigarette. On the other hand, by allowing the paper to move only by the pressure of the material, a loose cigarette may be produced.

It is also apparent that cigarette papers may be wrapped about the barrel 8 and moistened by means of a small sponge 18 if paper tubes are not available. It is also pointed out that while the machine shown in Figure 1 is operated electrically, the conveyor may be rotated through the medium of a suitable crank.

Manifestly, the construction shown is capable of some modification and such modification as is considered within the scope and meaning of the appended claims is also considered within the spirit and intent of the invention. 1

What is claimed is: V

1. A cigarette making machine including a barrel having a material receiving opening adjacent one end, and a conveyor for cutting and transporting shredded tobacco in the manufacture of cigarettes and arranged to operate in said barrel, said conveyor comprising a cylindrical body having a knife edged strip of material spirally wound thereupon and whose operative diameter equals the inner diameter of said barrel whereby to afford a cutting surface for said tobacco during transportation thereof through said barre 2. In a cigarette making machine, a to-. bacco conveyor having a central body and a spiral flight extending along said body, said flight having its forward face inclined at an acute angle to the body to form a spiral pocket extending along the body whereby material carried forward by the flight is urged inwardly toward the body, and a barrel through which the conveyor extends, said flight having at least a portion of its edge sharpened. to cut tobacco caught between the barrel and the conveyor edge. I r

3. In a cigarette making machine, a tobacco conveyor having a central body and a spiral flight extending along said body, said flight having its forward face inclined at an acute angle to the body to form a spiral pocket extending along the body whereby material carried forward by the flight is urged inwardly toward the body, and a barrel through which the conveyor extends, said barrel having an opening extending along the upper side thereof adjacent its rear end to form a tobacco receiving opening and having its forward portion forming a tube, said flight having at least a portion of its edge sharpened to cut tobacco caught between the tubular portion of the barrel and the conveyor edge.

4. In a cigarette making machine, a to bacco conveyor having a central body and a spiral flight extending along said body, said flight having its forward face inclined at an acute angle to the body to form a spiral pocket extending along the body whereby material carried forward by the flight is urged inwardly toward the body, and a barrel through which the conveyor extends, said barrel having an opening extending along the upper side thereof adjacent its rear end to form a tobacco receiving opening and having its forward portion forming an imperforate tube, said flight having at least a portion of its edge sharpened to cut tobacco caught between the tubular portion of the barrel and the conveyor edge, the rear of the tubular portion of the barrel being flared upwardly to provide a mouth cooperating with the sharpened edge of the flight to cut tobacco into short lengths.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

WVALTER F. GORDON. 

